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Launching Mac and Cheese through Surprising and Delighting Fans

Overview

Founded in 1991, Horizon is a pioneer in the organic industry. It’s the first company to supply organic milk nationally and remains committed to providing great-tasting dairy products that make it easy for moms to provide nutritious options for their families. In 2014, Horizon expanded beyond the dairy case for the first time to introduce a variety of new products, including macaroni and cheese, and family-friendly snack crackers and graham crackers, all made with the goodness of organic ingredients. The brand continued to expand with more new snacking and mac and cheese products in 2015.

Services Provided

Digital Engagement

Food & Nutrition

Challenge

In order to evolve the Horizon Organic brand beyond the dairy aisle, Horizon introduced new center-store products in 2014, including Macaroni and Cheese. Driving awareness and trial of these new Mac and Cheese products was essential for a successful launch, especially with moms, who make grocery purchasing decisions. The brand needed to connect with consumers in a way that helped moms understand the new products are an extension of the Horizon brand they’ve come to know and trust.

Solution

Linhart PR planned and executed an online “surprise and delight” program targeting consumers with a follower base of 500 on Twitter or 100 on Instagram to drive product awareness and trial. Consumers engaging in social media conversations about relevant topics, such as family dinners, were offered a free month’s supply of Horizon Mac and Cheese, along with other Horizon goodies, including coupons. Fans who received samples were encouraged to share their Horizon prize pack on their social channels. To continue creating positive brand awareness, Linhart PR encouraged consumers to visit Horizon’s Mac-N-Ator microsite in order to browse unique Mac and Cheese recipes to prepare, using the free product they received. From there, consumers were encouraged to share their fun and tasty recipe creations on social media using #MACNATOR.

Results

80+ consumers with online followings of 1,000 or more received prize pack

More than 100 social and blog posts promoting the products, as well as the Mac-N-Ator microsite, were created by consumers who received free product -- 1.25 pieces of original social content per fan

Nearly 125,000 impressions were generated from the social media content

The program provided Horizon with new, timely content for its owned channels, since posts created by selected consumers were shared